Last year I won a marketing scholarship and my parents decided to buy a snowboard as a present. It is the best present I’ve ever gotten.

Not only is it super cute and cool, it became the catalyst to my snowboarding improvements. Looking back at my old post from 2012, snowboarding was something I was always interested in. However, with no gear or season’s pass (or money), it was very difficult to get into it. I used to only go snowboarding once a year, but now I go quite often.

It took me quite awhile to learn how to properly snowboard. I was very afraid of falling and became content with using my heels to go all the way down. At last, I can confidently say that I know how to carve and can maneuver around other people. I also did a box landing at snail speed yesterday (the only thing I can do in the skate park). With this accomplishment, I feel very proud of myself.

Snowboarding makes me immensely happy because:

Winter mountains in BC are beautiful

There are quite a number of mountains people can go to ski or snowboard in Vancouver. Whistler is a 2-hour drive and there’s also Cypress, Grouse, and Seymour. For those interested, Big White is around a 5-hour drive. The views on these mountains when conditions are good are amazing. There is something very magical and serene about all the white snow covering everything. Sitting there, standing there, and boarding down those slopes with such a backdrop is marvelous.

Adrenaline rush

I’m not talking about totally out-of-control-will-collide-into-a-flock-of-children speed, but snowboarding is quite a thrilling sport. There is also an extra good feeling when adrenaline and sweat is beating in cold temperatures. I see snowboarding as an exciting, fun, healthy, and Canadian sport.

My investment

Well I do have a board now so I want to use it as much as I can. If I could chose to spend $60 on a day’s lift-pass or $60 on a pair of shoes, I would already be putting on my goggles.

“You want to chill today?”

Luckily for me, I know quite a number of people who ski or snowboard. Some of them are beginners and some are quite pro, able to go off jumps and do tricks. Last year, they were quite an inspiration to me to become better at snowboarding. It sucks being the slowest one and having everybody wait for you to make sure you didn’t fall into a ditch somewhere. They were also very helpful in tips and advice on how to gain better control, how to embrace more speed, and other related expertise.

It’s hard to find anything that is as fulfilling as a day of snowboarding with friends. Now that we are older, can drive, and have gear, heading up to the mountain for a day of boarding can just about be the coolest thing my friends and I can do.